There was nothing but confidence on the face of Augusta's Lee Knox as he stood over his approach shot on the 72nd hole that would determine the outcome of the 91st Georgia Amateur Championship.
"It was 142 yards, the perfect yardage. It was a green-light special," Knox said.
He confidently struck his pitching wedge to within 15 feet of the hole at Ansley Golf Club -- Settindown Creek in Roswell and minutes later two-putted for par, giving Knox a one-shot victory over David Noll Jr. of Dalton. Knox, a rising senior at the University of Alabama, became the 16th player to win multiple state championships.
Knox started the day with a two-shot lead and wound up shooting 73 to finish at 6-under 282. Noll, the defending champion, started the day five shots behind, but charged into contention with a 69, the low round of the day. Three players tied for third at 3-under 285: David Yowell of Marietta, Michael Garretson of Acworth and Matt Russell of Dunwoody. Chris Waters of Athens was alone in sixth place at 1-under.
Knox had expected to see Noll make a move. "We shook hands after the second day and he said, 'Well, you don't to worry about me,'" Knox said. "I said, 'Are you kiding?' He's been on my radar for three years. I saw his name on the leader board and I knew he was going to be there."
Noll roared out of the gate with a four-under 32 on the front nine and caught Knox at 7-under with a birdie at No. 10. But the veteran was hurt by a bogey at No. 12 and a double-bogey at No. 14, when he drove the ball through the fairway and out of bounds.
"I'm 5-under for the day and I'm thinking, 'Here we go,'" Noll said. "I'm thinking two more birdies and we're golden. But it didn't happen."
Noll's mistake at No. 14 allowed Knox enough room to withstand a bogey at the 17th and come to the final hole with a one-stroke advantage. He played the 18th hole in textbook manner, with a good tee shot in the middle of the fairway and a high wedge to the green. His lag putt left him only a few inches to nail down the victory.
"I didn't want to have to two-putt from 30 feet," Knox said. "It was nice to be able to lag it up there."
The victory by Knox continued a streak of success for college players. Over the last 10 years, a college player has won the tournament seven times. Knox left shortly after his victory to drive to Little Rock, Ark., for the Southern Amateur.
"That's a long ride, but it will seem a little bit shorter now," he said.
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